Billie Marten has come a long way in the decade plus since the release of her debut e.p Ribbon back in 2014. Maturing as an artist and person right before our eyes, but growing up in public isn’t always easy and it comes with it’s own challenges. Dog Eared is the 5th studio album from Marten and is one that finds her in an introspective cross roads.
More secure in her artistry, Billie shares the musical load with a full band this time around, allowing outside forces into her creative space. It’s a move that pays off for her, as this is a much and full bodied sounding album, giving the more intimate moments more scope while remaining just and tender and full hearted as you have come to expect from artist who has bared their soul alone for as long as she has.
There is so much to unpack on this album and repeated listens are sure to unlock more and more of it over time for those willing to spend the time with.
Bluegrass infused opener Feeling gets things off to a hazy start, bringing you immediately into this albums world. Crown and Clover take the listener further down the rabbit hole with their lo-fi leanings, feeling like a soundtrack to a lost Nicholas Sparks tearjerker, subtle and sparse they fill the air with a sense of magic that only comes from looking at the world from new perspectives.
No Sudden Changes, goes against its title and brings a more jazzy feel to the album. It has prime Norah Jones written all over it. Your ears prick up, as you feel yourself transported to a small dive bar and you can only hear the sound of the vocalist cut through the noise and the smoke. It’s evocative and showcases the maturity and sense of artistic boundary pushing that runs like a deep well throughout the near 40 minute run time of Dog Eared.
Leap Year is a gorgeous sweeping ballad that aches and yearns, as Billie’s vocals collide with a tender plucking guitar line and the gentle march of a steady drum beat. This is one of the albums stand out moments. It makes use of the band to elevate the vocals without ever overshadowing them, lyrically, vocally and compositionally it once again shows how far Billie has come as an artist and songwriter.
Goodnight Moon employs the subtlest moments of electronica, as they collide with strings and saxophone creating a hypnotic musical canvas for Billie to paint her haunting and mesmeric vocals on top of. As soon of you think you have fallen into rhythm with this album, it shapeshifts and becomes something else again.
Swing bookends the album acting as companion piece to feeling, bringing the country and bluegrass elements back as the album fades out of you in a manner that would make the setting sun jealous. Leaving the listener wanting to hit the replay button and venture once into Dog Eared’s warm embrace.
As I prefaced at the top of this review growing up in public can be a daunting task for anyone, let alone someone who is only finding themself as a person navigating the pitfalls the world has to offer, but especially as an artist who is finding their voice in a sometimes unforgiving world. Billie Marten has allowed herself the grace and patience to weather life storms and grow into one of the most unique and interesting voices in her chosen space. Dog Eared is a testament and in many ways a monument to artistic and personal growth, self discovery ongoing maturity. This is a staggering work from a songwriter who has allowed others to share in, collaborate on and further enrich her own musical pallette, creating an engaging, engrossing and emotionally resonant piece of work in the process. Dog Eared is not only the best album of Billie Marten’s career, it’s one that will linger in the soul long after the final notes have rung out.
9/10
Dog Eared is out now via Fiction Records. For more information on Billie Marten head here
